In the future, medical robots like Bloodhound
(Figure 1) will save soldiers and medics from this lethal
dilemma. The Personal Status Monitors (PSMs) and
smart uniforms being developed by the Army will detect
when a soldier is wounded and notify a medic of the
soldier’s GPS location. If the soldier is under fire, the
medic will deploy a Bloodhound to that location. This
robot will navigate autonomously to the soldier, carrying
payloads for diagnosis and treatment. While the robot
navigates to the soldier, the medic will be free to treat
other casualties or dispatch robots to other locations.

When Bloodhound arrives at the casualty, it will alert
the medic, and the medic will be able to perform a
detailed examination of the casualty through the robot’s
sensors. These sensors will include video cameras, twoway
audio, an electronic stethoscope, and other diagnostic
devices. The robot’s manipulator arm will allow the
medic to position the sensors to best examine the casualty.
After determining the extent of the casualty’s injuries, the
medic will be able to treat these injuries using onboard
medical payloads. In addition to allowing remote medical
care, Bloodhound will reduce the load that a medic needs
to carry, one of the key goals of Objective Force Warrior.

[...]

Using these guidelines, the
following payloads have been selected as candidates for
implementation in Phase II:

Because the Americans believed their information technologies reduced the need for conventional combat forces, they disbanded such forces in favor of trendy “information” units. These were filled not with well-trained, physically fit combatants, but rather, as Szafranski put it, “mind-nimble (not necessarily literate), fingertip-quick youth” who tended to equate their success at video games with competency to engage in real war. Thank The One Above, the easy capture of a few of these self-styled “digital warriors” yielded a treasure trove of intelligence data.

We found we could contend with the light, supposedly high-tech combat units that completed most of America's remaining battle forces